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Bahrain blast kills three policemen: Interior Ministry

An explosion killed three policemen in Bahrain on Monday during a protest in a village near the capital Manama, the Interior Ministry said, in one of the worst incidents of violence in recent months. The United Arab Emirates said one of its police officers, serving in a Gulf Cooperation Council force operating in the island kingdom, was among the three dead officers, according to the UAE state news agency WAM. The Bahraini Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account that a group of protesters had broken away from a mourning procession in the village of Daih and started blocking roads. The explosion took place as police were trying to disperse the rioters, it added. There was no immediate word on what had caused the blast. Both the UAE and Bahrain are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a political and military alliance that also includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman […]

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Sudan: Iraq Expresses Readiness to Supply Sudan With Oil

The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussein al-Shahristani on Monday expressed his country’s willingness to supply Sudan with crude oil and assist in the construction of a new oil refinery. Shahristani said in a statement released by his office as carried by Iraqi media that Baghdad is keen on supporting the Sudanese people and will stand by their side politically and economically. The Iraqi official made the statement after his meeting with the head of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Gen Mohamed Atta Al-Mawla Abbas who heads a government delegation that includes the minister of oil Makkawi Mohamed Awad, director of the oil marketing company and a number of experts. Abbas visited Iraq as an envoy from Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir. "The two sides discussed ways of strengthening relations between the two countries and the mechanism of exporting Iraqi oil to Sudan. The […]

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Haze Shrouds Malaysian Capital Amid Forest Fires and Drought

Smoke from forest and peat-soil fires drove air quality to unhealthy levels in and around Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur today, adding to the burden of water rationing after a month-long drought. The government’s air pollutant index climbed to as high as 137 in Port Klang this morning, with seven parts of Kuala Lumpur and the states of Selangor and Negri Sembilan recording levels above 100, which is classified as unhealthy. Cloud-seeding has begun to induce rainfall over dams and water-catchment areas, the Star reported today, citing Malaysia’s Meteorological Department. “We are trying to identify fire-prone areas, especially peat-soil land and steps are being taken,” G. Palanivel, Malaysia’s natural resources and environment minister, said in a text message to Bloomberg News today. Disputes over haze flare up regularly between Indonesia and its neighbors. The latest was in June, when smog in Singapore reached a record […]

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EPA sees win-win-win with tailpipe rules

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday new fuel and automotive emissions rules will create a better environment and improve public health. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Monday so-called Tier 3 standards, which aim to curb emissions from cars and trucks, would help avoid 2,000 premature deaths and as many as 50,000 cases of respiratory illnesses. "These standards are a win for public health, a win for our environment, and a win for our pocketbooks," she said in a statement Monday. The new standards should reduce gasoline sulfur levels by more than 60 percent, cutting some of the components that make up smog. The new standards will be introduced gradually beginning with model year 2017. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the proposals would have a marginal affect on retail gasoline prices. "These standards will clean our air, protect our health and save money," […]

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In Dakota Oil Patch, Trains Trump Pipelines

Moving North Dakota’s oil riches out of state on trains was supposed to be a stopgap solution until pipelines could be built. But even as crude gushes from the state’s Bakken Shale at a rate of nearly 1 million barrels a day, some pipeline companies are abandoning proposed projects, and it is becoming clear that rail transport won’t be a temporary phenomenon. In January, Koch Pipeline Company walked away from a project because of what it said was tepid interest by local oil producers. A year earlier Oneok Partners LP canceled plans for a $2 billion pipeline from North Dakota to Oklahoma for the same reason. Rail is almost always a more expensive way to transport crude than pipelines—as much as twice the price a barrel over similar distances. But in North Dakota’s case, rail’s greater flexibility to ferry oil to where it fetches the highest price trumped the […]

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Federal Court Rejects BP's Effort To Stop Payouts

A federal appeals court rejected BP PLC’s effort to stop Gulf Coast businesses from collecting payouts from the Deepwater Horizon settlement fund, even when they can’t directly trace their losses to the 2010 oil spill. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling appears to leave the oil company on the hook for billions of dollars more in payments than it originally estimated when it reached a settlement in 2012 with tens of thousands of businesses and individuals along the Gulf Coast. "They have some options for appeal, but it’s a significant loss for BP," said Tom Claps, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group who has followed the case. BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company disagrees with the decision that could allow payouts to businesses that didn’t actually lose money because of the spill. The appeals court in New Orleans upheld a lower court judge’s ruling that the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Federal Court Rejects BP’s Effort To Stop Payouts

A federal appeals court rejected BP PLC’s effort to stop Gulf Coast businesses from collecting payouts from the Deepwater Horizon settlement fund, even when they can’t directly trace their losses to the 2010 oil spill. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling appears to leave the oil company on the hook for billions of dollars more in payments than it originally estimated when it reached a settlement in 2012 with tens of thousands of businesses and individuals along the Gulf Coast. "They have some options for appeal, but it’s a significant loss for BP," said Tom Claps, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group who has followed the case. BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company disagrees with the decision that could allow payouts to businesses that didn’t actually lose money because of the spill. The appeals court in New Orleans upheld a lower court judge’s ruling that the […]

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IHS CERAWeek: Murkowski to ask EIA for analysis of US oil exports

US Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.) told IHS CERAWeek participants on Mar. 3 that she plans to ask the US Energy Information Administration for an economic analysis regarding the lifting of the ban on crude oil exports. She also called for a streamlining of regulations on condensate, condensate export permits, and more action by the administration regarding crude oil exports, specifically a determination by President Barack Obama that oil exports are in the national interest. “Timing with legislation is everything so we need to be doing the legwork with the Senate Energy Committee,” Murkowski said. Citing robust oil and gas production from US shale plays, Murkowski said US oil exports could provide a level of greater global economic stability. “We need to view our energy as an asset for global stability,” she told reporters during a news conference after her speech. “The oil market is clearly a global market.” In […]

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Russia to hike price on gas supplies to Ukraine

Russia’s state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom says it will cancel a price discount for natural gas supplies to Ukraine. Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said Tuesday in televised remarks that Ukraine has accumulated a $1.5-billion debt for Russian gas supplies. He added at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that Gazprom will cancel a price rebate for Ukraine starting April 1. Russia offered the discounted price and a $15-billion bailout to Ukraine in December following President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to ditch a pact with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .

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The energy transition tipping point is here

Page added on March 3, 2014 The economic foundations supporting fossil fuels investments are collapsing quickly, as the business case for renewables such as solar and wind finds a new center of balance. I have waited a long time—decades, really—for a tipping point in the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables beyond which there can be no turning back. Fresh evidence pertaining to many themes I have explored in this column over the past three years suggests that tipping point is finally here. Oil and gas Underlying the abundance hype over tight oil, tar sands and other “unconventional” sources of liquid fuel has been a dirty little secret: They’re expensive. The soaring cost of producing oil has far outpaced the rise in oil prices as the world has relied on these marginal sources to keep production growing since conventional oil production peaked in 2005. Those who ignored the […]

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